OK, so it’s primarily Spider-Man causing the problems. But can we blame the wall-crawler for the horrible violence plaguing an entire country? Let’s ask Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose nation saw 16,000 murders in 2012, and another 3,400 in the first quarter of this year.

In a new interview with the Bolivian newspaper La Opinión, Maduro said there’s a correlation between youth violence and the idolization of superheroes — it contributes to a “factory of anti-values,” apparently — a connection he made while he and his wife were watching Spider-Man 3.

“This kid, at 14 years old, carries a 9mm with a mind filled by thousands of hours of shows where people are killed,” he said. “I start to think how many thousands of hours of violence that kid will have consumed, in the end, stimulated by consumerism and violence when he grabs a 9 mm and goes to kill. […] That’s the trouble, from the beginning until the end there are more and more dead,” he said. “And that’s one of the series small children love most … because it’s attractive, it’s from comics that are attractive, the figure, the colors and movements … so much so that we finished watching it at four in the morning.”

Before J. Jonah Jameson orders that special edition of the Daily Bugle, it’s worth pointing out that Maduro has also claimed the spirit of his late predecessor Hugo Chávez spoke to him through a little bird to say he’s doing a fine job running the country.

Scott Hall

Hard to believe this man is actually in charge of anything. Such ignorance. I wonder how explains youth violence pre-Spider-Man…pre-comics…heck, go back thousands of years and you see evidence of it in Roman empire records. I doubt this guy can even read.

Chis

Spider-Man has nothing to do with it. There are people that are heroes because of the things they see to. It’s about raising your kids properly. Don’t blame a fictional character or movies and games because you lack the resolve to raise a kid you probably shouldn’t have had.

Rollo Tomassi

Naynlap

I’m going to agree with Maduro. After I watched Spider-Man 3 I was so consumed with anger that I went on a three day rampage. To this day thinking about Toby Maguire dancing leaves me wanting to set fire to cars. And his hair emo haircut. ARGH!!!! HULK SMASH!

Carlos

@El Santo: Chavez died this year, but don’t worry. He is a little “blue bird” now.
Filgaln: Conozco mucha gente de Venezuela y ellos no pueden creer el presidente que tienen. Una broma total. ( I know people from Venezuela and they can’t believe that this is “their” president. What a joke).

Peter

I thought from the headline that Maduro was blaming mass dissatisfaction over the gradual bastardization of Peter Parker’s character over the years (i.e., cuckolded by the Green Goblin, magically divorced by Satan, Freaky-Fridayed by Doc Ock) for Venezuelan unrest. That would have been more logical than his actual statement…

Xalidus

So the problem with a fourteen year-old carrying a 19mm is that he has a mind full of movie violence, and not the fact that he’s a fourteen year-old walking around with a freaking gun?! Keep guns out of the hands of kids and then it won’t matter what’s in their minds.

Enmanuel Luzardo

This guy is a total joke. I almost piss my pants when i heard about this. I’m from Venezuela, I still live in Venezuela. Believe me, he say this kind of stuff very often. Total bat shit crazy excuses for everything. Much like his dear “Supreme Comnander”, “Infinite Commander”, “Immortal Commander” Hugo Chávez. No, i’m not joking, they really call him that.

Jessica

Cameron Major

lol thank you for displaying your great ignorance to (not only) entertainment ,but to the issues of society as well.
1. So I am guessing that Guns make people kill,i’t’s not like people USE GUNS TO KILL. Nope,because people are perfect and pure before they touch the corrupting influence of guns. I am guessing it’s the same with comics and entertainment. Because people are pure before they see the corrupting influence of comics. That’s why everyone that has ever seen a superhero movie or has touched a comic has gone batshit insane. I mean,sure,why NOT use it as a scapegoat. Because when we get rid of entertainment,society will forever be cleansed because things like videogames no longer exist. Human beings are perfect beings. I mean,it’s not like you just don’t know how to run shit!

Aloha,
The late Salvador Allende of Chile, banned Mickey Mouse because it was promoting western values, so this guys tame.He sees super heroes and Spidey in particular as a threat to his idolization by the masses.That Spider-Man is young makes him even more appealing to youth who he wants to look up to him.Besides he can communicate with birds so he’s got super powers anyway.

This guy is a crazy and irresponsable wakko, everyday he blames everybody for all his mistakes and corruption, if I remember well in spiderman 3 dies uncle Ben (FLASHBACK), Eddie Brock and Harry Osborn, if he watch Rambo and Robocop he will never sleep, the violence in Venezuela it’s because there is to many poor people, a weak police department, a weak economy (42% of inflation only in 2013) and a huge goverment corruption, how he can blame Spider-man, when this hero mesage is to be responsable about your actions?, only a lier.

Nico-Mingo

It’s thing like this that make me want to get out of South-America so badly, our countries are run by incomparable corrupt idiots, most of our people still vote for this assholes even as our countries only grow in poverty, and the economic and social situations make it impossible to have a normal life here. I truly curse having been born here.